First Nations

Centerra Gold Announces Mount Milligan Mine Life Extension and Additional Agreement with Royal Gold

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The additional agreement entered into with Royal Gold (the “Additional Royal Gold Agreement”), which is effective immediately, provides supplementary payments to Mount Milligan that has enabled the reserve increase and corresponding extension of the mine life described above.

Key Points: 
  • The additional agreement entered into with Royal Gold (the “Additional Royal Gold Agreement”), which is effective immediately, provides supplementary payments to Mount Milligan that has enabled the reserve increase and corresponding extension of the mine life described above.
  • The existing Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement with Royal Gold dated as of December 14, 2011, as amended (the “Existing Stream Agreement”), is not affected by the Additional Royal Gold Agreement.
  • The Additional Royal Gold Agreement, taken together with the Existing Stream Agreement, will have the effect of increasing payments for Mount Milligan gold and copper production sold to Royal Gold under the Existing Stream Agreement, among other things.
  • The percentage of gold and copper production streamed to Royal Gold remains unchanged at 35% gold and 18.75% copper.

THE NEWS FORUM building news and content coalitions across Canada

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

FORUM DAILY WEST, is a daily news program focusing on Western Canada stories, launching February 26, 2024 (Monday to Friday 11PM ET).

Key Points: 
  • FORUM DAILY WEST, is a daily news program focusing on Western Canada stories, launching February 26, 2024 (Monday to Friday 11PM ET).
  • The News Forum presents BREAK THE NEEDLE, a 44-minute weekly show hosted by Adam Zivo, to find answers.
  • DOCUMENTARIES - The News Forum has also partnered with Serendipity Media Production, to broadcast a wide range of Canadian productions.
  • "I am thrilled and energized by the incredible synergy that our distribution partnerships with The News Forum bring to our content.

Can more ethical histories be written about early colonial expeditions? A new project seeks to do just that

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The name of the Aboriginal man in this article was how he was referred to, and his relative has requested we honour this name.

Key Points: 
  • The name of the Aboriginal man in this article was how he was referred to, and his relative has requested we honour this name.
  • Truth-telling is at the heart of a new research project we are currently leading that re-examines the legacy of the Hann Expedition, which travelled Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula in 1872.
  • Our project seeks to rewrite this period of history – and others – to honour the voices and experiences of Aboriginal people whose contributions to colonial-era expeditions have long been overlooked.
  • Jerry was derogatorily referred to as “the blackboy”, and his important role in the expedition has never been fully acknowledged.

Descendants leading research

  • Our research team includes descendants of the 1872 expedition, such as the project lead and co-author, Peter Taylor (a descendant of Norman Taylor’s), and co-researcher and co-author Cameo Dalley (a great-granddaughter of Tate’s).
  • As descendants, each of us has inherited different family narratives about what took place on the expedition, and whose contributions were central.
  • Further funding will support our research and the involvement of Traditional Owners along the expedition route, including Olkala, Kuku Yalanji, Lama Lama and Guugu Yimithirr people.
  • The united commitment of the descendants and their detailed knowledge of this expedition will be incredibly valuable in working with Elders across the cape who still grieve about their own history.

Why truth-telling is needed in Australia

  • Truth-telling was a vital component of the Uluru Statement from the Heart signed by over 200 Indigenous delegates from around Australia.
  • However, the failed referendum on a Voice to Parliament last year arguably demonstrated an apathy towards such processes at a national level.


Nicole Huxley is affiliated with North QLD Land Council, Jumbun Limited, Ngrragoonda RNTBC Aboriginal Corporation, Joint Coordinating Committee Member Qld - DSDSATSIP. Cameo Dalley and Peter Taylor do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Statement regarding the status of the 2024 Elver fishery

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

DARTMOUTH, NS, Feb. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a sustainable, orderly, and safe elver fishery that respects harvesters and Indigenous rights holders.

Key Points: 
  • DARTMOUTH, NS, Feb. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a sustainable, orderly, and safe elver fishery that respects harvesters and Indigenous rights holders.
  • In recent years, the elver fishery has experienced a pattern of increasing and serious challenges, including conservation and safety concerns.
  • Since the closure of the commercial elver fishery on April 15, 2023, DFO has been consulting with industry, First Nations, and stakeholders to chart a path forward for the future of the elver fishery.
  • Today, the Minister instructed DFO to consult with licence holders, First Nations, and Indigenous organizations on the future of the 2024 elver fishery.

Federal Housing Advocate's final report calls for national response to the crisis of encampments

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle is calling for a national response to the human rights crisis facing people living in homeless encampments.

Key Points: 
  • OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle is calling for a national response to the human rights crisis facing people living in homeless encampments.
  • In her final report on encampments released today, the Advocate is recommending that the federal government establish a National Encampments Response Plan by August 31, 2024.
  • This Act recognizes housing as a fundamental human right in Canada, and mandated the Federal Housing Advocate to undertake reviews of systemic housing issues.
  • The National Housing Strategy Act specifies that when the Minister responsible for housing receives the report of such a systemic review, the Minister must respond within 120 days.

Defense Metals Updates Metallurgical Test Work and Preliminary Feasibility Study Progress for its Wicheeda Rare Earth Elements Project

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

The field-based geotechnical, geochemical and environmental test work required for the PFS has been completed and lab-based studies are in progress.

Key Points: 
  • The field-based geotechnical, geochemical and environmental test work required for the PFS has been completed and lab-based studies are in progress.
  • Eleven mixed rare earth precipitate samples from the hydrometallurgical test work have been sent to potential partners, processors or end-users.
  • Over the past 5 years, Defense Metals drilled 58 core holes totalling 12,073 metres (m; ~39,610 feet) to define the Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) deposit and provide samples for metallurgical test work.
  • From 2018 to date, about CAD$5 million has been spent on metallurgical test work and the development of the metallurgical flowsheets for the Wicheeda REE Project.

The government is well behind on Closing the Gap. This is why we needed a Voice to Parliament

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Another year, and another Closing the Gap report comes before the parliament and the Australian people.

Key Points: 
  • Another year, and another Closing the Gap report comes before the parliament and the Australian people.
  • The 2024 Closing the Gap report is the first since Australians resoundingly rejected the proposal to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
  • With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that in this year’s Closing the Gap report, the government outlines that just four of the 19 targets are on track to be bridged.
  • It’s also committed to building remote training hubs and improving community wifi services for around 20 remote communities.

‘What’s next?’ is the wrong question to ask

  • This question has become a staple of pundits and commentators trying to look smart following a referendum process during which they fundamentally failed on the civics, the politics and the journalism of Indigenous issues.
  • Before we ask about what comes next though, we must ask what has come already, and whether efforts at closing the gap over the past three years, since the agreement was overhauled by the Morrison government, have worked.
  • The Agreement requires government decision-makers to accept that they do not know what is best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Closing the Gap in 2024

  • The one thing to understand about the gap in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples is that it is not something that ever needed be this way.
  • As the Productivity Commission found, “it is a direct result of the ways in which governments have used their power over many decades”.
  • There is also the National Skills Agreement, which includes a dedicated stream of funding for closing the gap to support community-controlled registered training organisations.
  • Also, next time you run into one of the many MPs and shadow ministers who campaigned against a Voice to Parliament, ask them what their plan is to close the gap and empower Indigenous peoples and communities.


James Blackwell is a Member of the Uluru Dialogue at UNSW.

New commissioner will focus on vexed issue of Indigenous children in out-of-home care

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

A national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children will be established by the Albanese government, an initiative long sought by Indigenous advocates.

Key Points: 
  • A national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children will be established by the Albanese government, an initiative long sought by Indigenous advocates.
  • The commissioner will especially focus on the vexed issue of the high proportion of children in out-of-home care.
  • Indigenous children are almost 11 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children.
  • The Commissioner will address the unacceptable rates of out-of-home care.

First Peoples’ land overlaps with 130 imperilled bird species – and their knowledge may be vital to saving them

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.

Key Points: 
  • Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.
  • The includes but is not confined to Indigenous Protected Areas, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.
  • Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination.

‘Threatened species’ is a Western concept

  • In the decades since Australia’s threatened species legislation was passed in 1992, First Peoples have become key partners in conservation.
  • For millennia, birds have been integral to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples.
  • The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use.

What we found

  • Under Australian law, First Peoples lack legal title to much of their ancestral lands.
  • Regardless, connections to Country – and species that live there – remain.
  • For example, the entire population of Australia’s rarest bird, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW.
  • And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.

How First Peoples can become more involved

  • But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country.
  • For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas where the species occur.
  • The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved.

Compensation for centuries of damage

  • For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet receive just a fraction of funding for the federal conservation estate.
  • Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied.
  • They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.


Amanda Lilleyman is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. She works for and consults to Aboriginal ranger groups and Charles Darwin University. Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council. Stephen Garnett works for Charles Darwin University. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia.

First Peoples’ land overlaps with 130 imperilled bird species – and this knowledge may be vital to saving them

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.

Key Points: 
  • Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.
  • The includes but is not confined to Indigenous Protected Areas, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.
  • Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination.

‘Threatened species’ is a Western concept

  • In the decades since Australia’s threatened species legislation was passed in 1992, First Peoples have become key partners in conservation.
  • For millennia, birds have been integral to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples.
  • The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use.

What we found

  • Under Australian law, First Peoples lack legal title to much of their ancestral lands.
  • Regardless, connections to Country – and species that live there – remain.
  • For example, the entire population of Australia’s rarest bird, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW.
  • And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.

How First Peoples can become more involved

  • But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country.
  • For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas where the species occur.
  • The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved.

Compensation for centuries of damage

  • For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet receive just a fraction of funding for the federal conservation estate.
  • Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied.
  • They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.


Amanda Lilleyman is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. She works for and consults to Aboriginal ranger groups and Charles Darwin University. Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council. Stephen Garnett works for Charles Darwin University. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia.